11 If a liar and deceiver(A) comes and says,
    ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’(B)
    that would be just the prophet for this people!(C)

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31 The prophets prophesy lies,(A)
    the priests(B) rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
    But what will you do in the end?(C)

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10 They say to the seers,(A)
    “See no more visions(B)!”
and to the prophets,
    “Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,(C)
    prophesy illusions.(D)
11 Leave this way,(E)
    get off this path,
and stop confronting(F) us
    with the Holy One(G) of Israel!”

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13 For such people are false apostles,(A) deceitful(B) workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.(C) 14 And no wonder, for Satan(D) himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.(E)

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15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent(A) you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.(B)

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32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,(A)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray(B) with their reckless lies,(C) yet I did not send(D) or appoint them. They do not benefit(E) these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

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25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies(A) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!(B) I had a dream!’

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17 They keep saying(A) to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’(B)
And to all who follow the stubbornness(C) of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm(D) will come to you.’

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14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:(A)
    They commit adultery and live a lie.(B)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,(C)
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.(D)
They are all like Sodom(E) to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”(F)

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14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(A) in my name. I have not sent(B) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(C) divinations,(D) idolatries[a] and the delusions of their own minds.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations

10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.(A)
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;(B)
prophets(C) and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.(D)
11 They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.(E)

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19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’

“One suggested this, and another that. 20 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’

“‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.

21 “‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit(A) in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.

“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’

22 “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours.(B) The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

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So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”

“Go,”(A) they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”(B)

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13 Then I saw three impure spirits(A) that looked like frogs;(B) they came out of the mouth of the dragon,(C) out of the mouth of the beast(D) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(E) 14 They are demonic spirits(F) that perform signs,(G) and they go out to the kings of the whole world,(H) to gather them for the battle(I) on the great day(J) of God Almighty.

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On Denying the Incarnation

Dear friends,(A) do not believe every spirit,(B) but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.(C)

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13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight.(A) They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.[a](B) 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce(C) the unstable;(D) they are experts in greed(E)—an accursed brood!(F) 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam(G) son of Bezer,[b] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.(H)

17 These people are springs without water(I) and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.(J) 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words(K) and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping(L) from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”(M)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 2:13 Some manuscripts in their love feasts
  2. 2 Peter 2:15 Greek Bosor

False Teachers and Their Destruction

But there were also false prophets(A) among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.(B) They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord(C) who bought them(D)—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct(E) and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed(F) these teachers will exploit you(G) with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

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And then the lawless one will be revealed,(A) whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth(B) and destroy by the splendor of his coming.(C) The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan(D) works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders(E) that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.(F) They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.(G) 11 For this reason God sends them(H) a powerful delusion(I) so that they will believe the lie(J)

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19 Their destiny(A) is destruction, their god is their stomach,(B) and their glory is in their shame.(C) Their mind is set on earthly things.(D)

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18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ,(A) but their own appetites.(B) By smooth talk and flattery they deceive(C) the minds of naive people.

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11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(A)
    her priests teach for a price,(B)
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(C)
Yet they look(D) for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”(E)

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This is what the Lord says:

“As for the prophets
    who lead my people astray,(A)
they proclaim ‘peace’(B)
    if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
    who refuses to feed them.

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22 Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies,(A) when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives,(B)

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This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish[a] prophets(A) who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!(B) Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair(C) it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.(D) Their visions are false(E) and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent(F) them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.(G) Have you not seen false visions(H) and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you,(I) declares the Sovereign Lord. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying(J) divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records(K) of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(L)

10 “‘Because they lead my people astray,(M) saying, “Peace,”(N) when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,(O) 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones(P) hurtling down,(Q) and violent winds will burst forth.(R) 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

13 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones(S) and torrents of rain(T) will fall with destructive fury.(U) 14 I will tear down the wall(V) you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation(W) will be laid bare. When it[b] falls,(X) you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 13:3 Or wicked
  2. Ezekiel 13:14 Or the city

21 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies(A) to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22 Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned(B) in the fire.’ 23 For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery(C) with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know(D) it and am a witness(E) to it,” declares the Lord.

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